Adventures in Meridell
by Cutieco8
Summary: When Jeemie and his family goes on a trip to the newly found Meridell, things happen...


"Aye. I'll give ye a bargain. 493 NP an' no less."  
  
Jeemie gave the shopkeeper an evil look, sighed, and put the coins on the table. The shopkeeper greedily snatched the money, then threw the cold sandwich on the wood. Jeemie grabbed it and ran off to the grassy patch where his family sat.  
  
"Darn shopkeeper. 500 NP for a measly sandwich."  
  
"Jeemie!" his mother began. "What have I taught you about bargaining?"  
  
"I know, I know, the value of an item is the value you offer."  
  
He bit into his sandwich. As he nibbled away on his "meal," he replayed the day's events in his mind.  
  
  
~~~~~  
  
  
The Kacheek mindlessly stuffed his toy cars into his pack. He reached up to his bookcase and took his three books. He didn't check the title; he knew that all the books would be good.  
  
Next to him, a cloud Usul was putting makeup into her designer suitcase. Oh, Katreek, he thought. Always taking her makeup. It's not like there's gonna be anyone cute there; after all, it is a medieval village. But still, she began packing away all her beauty magazines.  
  
Elottia, the faerie kougra, lounged on the bed, staring at the ceiling, listening to the latest rock music. She rolled her basketball in her lap. Her bag is already packed, Jeemie guessed. All she needs is her basketball, her music, and a deck of cards.  
  
Elottia looked up, at Jeemie. "What?"  
  
"Oh, nothing," Jeemie replied. He went back to his packing.  
  
He carefully went to his bed. All it was, really, was a "cat bed," as Mom called it. (She was from some weird place called Earth, and they had these things called cats. They sleep in beds like ours.) But, whoever or whatever slept in it, it was comfortable.  
  
He waited until Katreek looked away, and then produced a small grey box from under his pillow. It was the kind of box that you would keep a ring in. He opened it, and made sure it was still there. It was.  
  
"It" was a small gold ring. He thought back to the day in the Create-A-Pet station, the first day of his life. He remembered that old, frail Kacheek who sadly looked into his cage, and placed the ring in front of him. He remembered her walking away...  
  
He had come to believe that she was his birth mother. He didn't really miss her, because he was happy here. But still, it would be cool to meet her.  
  
"Jeemie! Let's go!" Mom called. She stood in the doorway of their bedroom, beckoning for him to come. He threw the box in his bag, zipped it up, and threw it on his back. He ran through Mom's legs, and bounded into the kitchen. He grabbed the salads he had prepared last night, and put them in an easy-to-carry bag. Then, he ran into the living room, and quickly grabbed his video game and a few cartridges. The kacheek then followed his sibilings and mother out the door.  
  
  
"Elottia, did you end up printing the directions?" Mom questioned.  
  
"Yup." She produced a folded sheet of paper from her bag and passed it to her left.  
  
They had a minivan. Mom was the only one allowed to drive, so, obviously, she sat in the driver's seat. Elottia was the tallest one, so she sat next to her. The next row only had two seats, so Katreek sat on the left, and Jeemie sat on the right. Noes_Jr, their Kiko, who had a diesase that forced him to stay underwater at all times, sat in the very back row, in his KikoBowl holder.  
  
"The directions say it'll take 2 1/2 hours to get there," said Elottia.  
  
"Oh boy..." gasped Mom.  
  
Jeemie gave a half smile. He took out his video game and switched it on. He began fighting evil Wockies with super-karate powers and mad Techos with swords.  
  
Across the aisle, Katreek began flipping through the latest issue of Teen Usul. Jeemie glanced at the cover, which featured a red Usul with a prom dress on. The caption read, "What To Do When Your Date Bails." Okayy..., Jeemie thought.  
  
The car began slowing down. Jeemie looked out the front window. There was a big traffic jam. Mom grunted.  
  
"Elottia, go up there and see what's going on," Mom ordered.  
  
She took off her headphones and stood up on her chair. She put her front paws up on the roof of the car and hopped through the sun roof.  
  
In the distance. she could see a troop of Myncis on stilts. They blocked each lane of traffic. Each one was doing a different dance. Elottia shouted down, "Dancing Myncis!"  
  
"Whaaat?!" Mom exclaimed. She threw open the car door and jumped out. She looked down the highway and sure enough, there were five dancing Myncis.  
  
Not wanting to miss out on the fun, Katreek and Jeemie got out on the car. (Jeemie grabbed Noes_Jr too, knowing that he couldn't see.) They watched the Myncis dance until one of them stopped. The others followed suit. Then, the Mynci in the center bellowed, "DO NOT GO TO MERIDELL! IT'S A LAND OF HATE AND DISTRUST, MON!" They had a thick Jamaican accent. (Only Mom knew what Jamaica was.)  
  
One by one, the Myncis climbed off their stilts, and loaded them into a parked truck on the side of the highway. Then the Myncis got in the truck, and drove away.  
  
Realizing the danger of the situation, Jeemie, Katreek, Elottia, Noes_Jr, and Mom quickly got back into the minivan before they were hit by the oncoming traffic. Mom started up the car, and they were off. Again.  
  
  
Two hours after the Myncis, they arrived in Meridell. There was a no-car rule, so they parked their car in the Chia Bomber parking lot, and walked the rest of the way.  
  
When they arrived, they fit in perfectly, with their bulging bags on their packs. The pets patiently browsed the marketplace while Mom went to find a good campsite.  
  
A short while later, Mom came back, breathless. "I...found...a...spot." She grabbed a waterbottle from Elottia's paws and drank it all up. When she saw the appalled look on Elottia's face, she said, "Don't worry. There are wells around here." Then she told all of them to follow, and they walked off.  
  
The campground was nice. It was on the edge of town. The nearby forest provided shade. They staked the area that they wanted (this was Meridell; if you didn't say it was your's it would be gone in a flash.)  
  
With their bags still on their backs, they began walking around, seeing the sights. They played Cheeseroller. They counted potatoes. They made Bullseyes.  
  
They decided to stop at a small cottage they saw. They had run out of water, and needed a refill. They hoped that the resident of the cottage would be nice enough to let them use their well.  
  
Mom knocked on the door. A wrinkled kacheek stood at the door. She leaned on a cane, and her clothes were tattered and dirty. From the looks of it, she could barely move, let alone answer the door.  
  
"H-h-h-how m-may I h-h-help ye?" she said with a stutter. She switched her cane to the other arm.  
  
Jeemie found her somewhat familiar, but could not put his finger on where he had seen her before. Mom seemingly had no rememberance of her, from the way she replied. "Uh...yeah. I need some water, could we use your well?"  
  
The old Kacheek slowly nodded and said, "Thou m-may t-t-t-take as m-m-much as thy'd l-like, b-b-but only i-if ye g-g-get m-me s-s-some w-water." Mom nodded and walked to the well.  
  
Elottia (holding Noes_Jr) and Katreek followed, but I stayed behind, looking into the worn face of the Kacheek. He had realized where that face was from. But was he right? He opened his backpack and took out the ring.  
  
"Is this..is this yours?" He opened the box. The Kacheek gasped. She put her hand over her mouth, but unfortunately, it was the hand that was leaning on the cane. Jeemie ran to her and caught her.  
  
"Is it r-r-really you, B-B-Berallilo?"  
  
"Berallilo? My name is Jeemie."  
  
"A-Aye, B-B-But I n-named you B-Berallilo."  
  
Mom came back. "Here's your water, miss. Now, come on, Jeemie, help us carry the water."  
  
As Mom turned, Jeemie handed the old Kacheek the ring. "You keep it. I'll visit you next time." The old Kacheek smiled, waved (with her good hand) and closed the door.  
  
Jeemie turned around and looked at the surroundings. He made sure to memorize where the cottage was, for next time. Then he ran off to Mom to help with the water.  
  
  
As they were walking back to the Market, they passed a group of Lupes. They wore dark clothes, and kept looking over their shoulders, as if they were on a secret mission. When Jeemie saw them turn onto the path that led to the old Kacheek's cottage, Jeemie quickly tugged on Mom's sleeve, claiming he had to go to the bathroom. When he was granted permission, he ran off towards the cottage, then squatted between two bushes.  
  
What he saw frightened him. The Lupes were talking to the Kacheek, and laughing like old friends. The Kacheek wasn't leaning on her cane; in fact, she looked normal. Then, the Kacheek passed one of the Lupes something; Jeemie couldn't tell what it was, but he saw a glint of gold. Them he picked up some of the conversation:  
  
"It was too easy. He just...handed me the ring! Like he knew I wanted it! Of course, I am his mother, but then again, I twas the Birthing Kacheek for the months of July, August, and September 2000, so I'm the mother o' most o' the Kacheeks his age." She laughed evilly.  
  
"Twas a smart thing ye did, Bo," said one of the Lupes. "Handin' out solid gold rings to e'ry kacheek ye had, then waitin till they gained value till ye stole it back."  
  
Jeemie understood now. Every few months, a new Kacheek is picked to give birth to every Kacheek owners wanted, until they grew tired or couldn't handle it any more. This Kacheek was his mother, and was the Kacheek for when he was born. The ring was part of a scheme, and Jeemie was a helper. Jeemie, and every other Kacheek his age, was no more than storage for her and her gang. The old Kacheek gave a ring to every Kacheek she gave birth to. Then, when the rings were high in value, she planned to steal back all the rings and sell them.  
  
Jeemie felt a white hot hate towards his mother, the Lupes, and himself. Then, he thought, No. The ring was an evil ring. I'm glad it's gone. Then, he stood up, and walked back to his real family.  
  
  
~~~~~  
  
  
Jeemie popped the last piece of crust into his mouth. He daintily wiped his mouth with a napkin, then dunked it into the garbage barrel like Elottia would. He sat back on his seat and people/pet watched.  
  
Some of the sellers argued with buyers over the price of items. Others smiled and shook hands as they made trades. Some were happy, others were angry.  
  
Jeemie thought about what the Myncis had said. "Meridell is a land of hate and distrust." Were they right?  
  
In some places, they were. They were right about his real mom. They were right about the bandits. But they were wrong about the happy people, the fun games, and the lovely land. In total, they were probably wrong more times than right.  
  
Elottia, Katreek, and Mom finished their salads. (Jeemie had dropped his when he was running back from the "bathroom.") They threw out their garbage. Then, they trekked across the marketplace, to get to their plot of land.  
  
Mom breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that their spot was still empty. They all worked together to set up their tent. Then, one by one, they each crawled in and laid out their sleeping bags. Jeemie crawled in his and took out a book.  
  
It was a book he never realized they had. It was titled, "Medieval." Just Medieval. He opened the first page. On it, in scrawly handwriting, said:  
  
I, Sir Eldatar, Keeper Of The Forests, Hope That Thou Dost Enjoy My Writings. Thy Shalt Be Guarenteed Knowledge From This Book. Thy Shall Learn How To Live In The Grand World Of Meridell, How To Work Here, And How To Trust People. Sincerely, Sir Eldatar, Keeper Of The Forests, On The 1st Day Of Hiding, In The Year One.  
  
Jeemie turned the page. Two lines were written on it.  
  
Write Here Thou Fondest Memories Of Our Land. And This Shall Teach Thee What Thou Wants To Know.   
  
The rest of the book was blank. Jeemie poked Katreek, and asked her for a pen. She gave him one, and Jeemie started writing.  
  
  
1/Hiding/4  
  
Meridell is NOT a land of hate and distrust.  
  
  
And that is all. 


End file.
